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Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, 379 U.S. 306 (1964)
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General SummaryThis case is from a collection containing the full text of over 16,000 Supreme Court cases from 1793 to the present. The body of Supreme Court decisions are, effectively, the final interpretation of the Constitution. Only an amendment to the Constitution can permanently overturn an interpretation and this has happened only four times in American history.
Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, 379 U.S. 306 (1964)
Hamm v. City of Rock Hill No. 2 Argued October 12, 1964 Decided December 14, 1964 * 379 U.S. 306
CERTIORARI TO THE SUPREME COURT OF SOUTH CAROLINA
Syllabus
The petitioners, who are Negroes, were convicted for violations of state trespass statutes for participating in "sit-ins" at lunch counters of retail stores. It was conceded that the lunch counter operations would probably come within the coverage of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which was passed subsequent to the convictions and the affirmances thereof in the state courts.
Held:
1. The Act creates federal statutory rights which, under the Supremacy Clause, must prevail over any conflicting state laws. Pp. 310-312.
2. These convictions, being on direct review at the time the Act made the conduct no longer unlawful, must abate. Pp. 312-317.
(a) Had these been federal convictions, they would have abated, Congress presumably having intended to avoid punishment no longer furthering a legislative purpose, and the general federal saving statute being applicable to a statute like this which substitutes a right for what was previously criminal. Pp. 312-314.
(b) Though these were state convictions, their abatement is likewise required not only under the Supremacy Clause, and because the pending convictions are contrary to the legislative purpose of the Act, but also because abatement is a necessary part of every statute which repeals criminal legislation. Pp. 314-317.
241 S.C. 420, 128 S.E.2d 907; 236 Ark. 596, 367 S.W.2d 750, judgments vacated and charges ordered dismissed.
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Chicago: U.S. Supreme Court, "Syllabus," Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, 379 U.S. 306 (1964) in 379 U.S. 306 379 U.S. 307. Original Sources, accessed December 2, 2024, http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WUNQ89DCKQQCYR2.
MLA: U.S. Supreme Court. "Syllabus." Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, 379 U.S. 306 (1964), in 379 U.S. 306, page 379 U.S. 307. Original Sources. 2 Dec. 2024. http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WUNQ89DCKQQCYR2.
Harvard: U.S. Supreme Court, 'Syllabus' in Hamm v. City of Rock Hill, 379 U.S. 306 (1964). cited in 1964, 379 U.S. 306, pp.379 U.S. 307. Original Sources, retrieved 2 December 2024, from http://www.originalsources.com/Document.aspx?DocID=WUNQ89DCKQQCYR2.
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